Not every project in the shop needs a full build sequence to be worth sharing. This one started as a way to use up small hardwood offcuts, cutoffs too short for anything structural but too nice to throw in the scrap bin, and turned into a small batch of two-tone planter blocks sized for succulents.
The Finished Planters
Each planter is a small, blocky cube with a round recess bored into the top to hold a potted succulent. The body is built from two different woods: a warm, reddish-brown hardwood (the color and grain read as mahogany or sapele) banded with a lighter strip, likely maple, running around the middle. The contrast between the dark and light wood is the whole design. There’s no extra ornamentation beyond it.
Two Versions, Same Idea
At least two body shapes came out of this batch: a square-profile block and an octagonal one. Both use the same dark-wood-with-a-light-stripe construction and the same style of bored recess, just with a different number of facets on the outside. In the photos, the octagonal one is shown without a plant yet, while the square version is planted with a small aloe.
Construction Details
The recess in each block has a flat bottom and clean, vertical sides, consistent with boring it out using a flat-bottomed bit like a Forstner bit rather than a spade bit or hand drilling freehand. The two-tone banding suggests each blank was glued up from separate strips or blocks of wood before being cut to its final shape, instead of starting from one solid piece. It’s the same basic idea behind a laminated cutting board or a segmented turning blank, just at a much smaller scale.
Finish
The planters were finished with Formby’s Tung Oil Finish, visible in the shop photo below next to one of the blocks mid-finish. Tung oil is a common choice for small, handled wood pieces like this since it builds a durable, low-sheen protective layer without looking overly glossy.
These are a good example of a small, low-waste shop project: a way to turn offcuts that would otherwise go in the scrap bin into something useful, without needing a big block of time or a cut list.